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<h1><a href="https://archiveofourown.org/works/26513557">For Frankie</a> by <a class='authorlink' href='https://archiveofourown.org/users/pascalispunk/pseuds/pascalispunk'>pascalispunk</a></h1>

<table class="full">

<tr><td><b>Category:</b></td><td>Triple Frontier (2019)</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Genre:</b></td><td>F/M</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Language:</b></td><td>English</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Status:</b></td><td>In-Progress</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Published:</b></td><td>2020-09-17</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Updated:</b></td><td>2020-10-27</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Packaged:</b></td><td>2021-05-06 03:23:01</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Rating:</b></td><td>General Audiences</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Warnings:</b></td><td>No Archive Warnings Apply</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Chapters:</b></td><td>9</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Words:</b></td><td>7,318</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Publisher:</b></td><td>archiveofourown.org</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Story URL:</b></td><td>https://archiveofourown.org/works/26513557</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Author URL:</b></td><td>https://archiveofourown.org/users/pascalispunk/pseuds/pascalispunk</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Summary:</b></td><td><div class="userstuff">
              <p>A collection of drabbles made for my best friend.</p>
            </div></td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Relationships:</b></td><td>Francisco "Catfish" Morales/You</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Kudos:</b></td><td>6</td></tr>

</table>

<a name="section0001"><h2>1. Chapter 1</h2></a>
<div class="story"><div class="userstuff module">
    
    <p>“Hey.. you good over there?” Frankie’s voice was echoey for a second before you focused on him sitting in the driver’s seat.</p><p> </p><p>“Yeah.. sorry, I must’ve fell asleep..”</p><p> </p><p>“Oh, sorry.. shh shh go back to sleep then..”</p><p> </p><p>You just smiled at him before turning your head back to where it was and closing your eyes again. For a second, you felt Frankie’s hand on your thigh, his thumb rubbing gentle circles over your denim jeans. You blinked your eyes open and watched the landscape around you, figuring you must be halfway into your journey. Realising you won’t get any more sleep, you just sat back up again. You felt the car slow to a stop and you notice Frankie’s pulled over into the layby at the side of the road. He reached into his bag on the back seat and pulled it forward, taking out his water bottle and some medication.</p><p> </p><p>“Here.. take this..” He handed you both the items as he instructed you to take the medication. You nodded and followed his order, watching as his expression changed to one of worry. He knew you were fine, just a little temperature and pain but he couldn’t help but still get a tiny pang of fear. You just had to smile and hold his hand, before reassuring him you’d be fine.</p><p> </p><p>“You sure you’ll be okay? We can get out the car and get some fresh air if you want to..”</p><p> </p><p>“I’ll be okay.. I’ve got you haven’t I?”</p><p> </p><p>Frankie smiled and squeezed your hand gently.</p><p> </p><p>“Yeah.. and I’ve got you..”</p><p> </p><p>“But I’m sick..”</p><p> </p><p>“You may be in pain.. but you’re still strong..”</p><p> </p><p>“Frankie..”</p><p> </p><p>“I’m serious.. I love you..”</p><p> </p><p>“I love you too.. now let’s drive.. I really want to see this surprise you have planned..”</p><p> </p><p>The next hour flew by, fortunately for you. You noticed Frankie taking a turn off the highway and onto a dirt track. There were some houses in the distance but Frankie just drove past them. As you watched them go by, you couldn’t help but imagine a life with Frankie here, away from the city. You did love the city but it could get so noisy and busy—having a peaceful life out here would be perfect.</p><p> </p><p>“Okay, we’re here..”</p><p> </p><p>You woke up, not even realising you’d fell asleep. As you stepped out the car, you realised you were on someone’s property—a farm to be exact. It wasn’t exactly a big farm but the area of land surrounding the house was much larger than the tiny garden you had back at yours and Frankie’s apartment.</p><p> </p><p>“Where are we?”</p><p> </p><p>“Well.. you remember how I kinda complained about our apartment a few months back?”</p><p> </p><p>“Mmhm?”</p><p> </p><p>“And then I took that long drive at the weekend?”</p><p> </p><p>“Yes..”</p><p> </p><p>“Well.. I came here.. I saw this place online, on the market.. we had enough so I put in an offer..”</p><p> </p><p>“Frankie..”</p><p> </p><p>“They accepted.. it’s ours baby..”</p><p> </p><p>You couldn’t even say anything, you just walked up the path to the front door, running your hands over the wooden frame. Frankie’s hand pressed against your back and you shifted to lean against his side, but only for a second before you turned and sobbed into his chest. He just smiled and held you against him, pressing a soft kiss to the top of your head.</p><p> </p><p>“We’re home.. for real..”</p><p> </p><p>—————————————————————————————————</p><p> </p><p>part two - guys help u and frankie move in</p><p> </p><p>“Damn, ‘Fish.. this place is really nice..” Santiago spoke as he stepped over the threshold of the house, holding a box full of books. You were stood in the living room with Benny and Will, Frankie following after Pope with another box of books.</p><p> </p><p>“Thanks man.. it sucks we’re gonna live so far away from you guys..”</p><p> </p><p>“Don’t you worry about that, the drive out here is lovely.. we’ll make the journey if we have to..”</p><p> </p><p>Frankie smiled at Benny, placing the box on the floor of the living room. He sighed as he stood back up, looking around the room at all the boxes and furniture.</p><p> </p><p>“Well.. shall we get unpacking?” Will spoke up first, making you turn to him with a confused face.</p><p> </p><p>“You’re still gonna help us?”</p><p> </p><p>“Of course! You didn’t think we were gonna make you and Frankie build and move all this furniture by yourselves were you?”</p><p> </p><p>“Well.. I thought you might be bored..”</p><p> </p><p>“Hell no, c’mon.. let’s get this flat pack bed upstairs and built.”</p><p> </p><p>You just smiled at Will as he walked over to the box with Frankie, lifting it up and heading upstairs, Benny behind for support while you walked up the stairs next to Pope. Once you were all in the bedroom, Frankie unopened the box and handed the instructions to Pope, to which he just rolled his eyes at.</p><p> </p><p>Pope started reading out the instructions as you all got to finding the pieces and started to assemble the bed. You stood back for a second and let the guys build the bed, smiling at them as they got to work. Soon enough, the bed was built and the bedroom was filled with the furniture. The living room was next and after a few hours, you and the guys were all relaxed on the couches drinking beers. You were snuggled up into Frankie’s side, smiling at the other guys. Everything was finally in place and you knew this was where you and Frankie deserved and needed to be for the rest of your lives.</p><p> </p><p>“Okay, I think it’s time we head home.. we got a long journey ahead of us..”</p><p> </p><p>“Oh, shit yeah.. I’ll see you out..”</p><p> </p><p>You got up and moved to the window as Frankie walked the guys to the door and you waved at them as they headed into their respective cars. After they drove off, Frankie came back to you on the couch and sat next to you, taking your hand in his.</p><p> </p><p>“I love you.. god, I love you so much..”</p><p> </p><p>“I love you too, Frankie.. thank you.. for everything.. this house, it’s just perfect.”</p><p> </p><p>“I know.. I can’t wait to spend the rest of my life with you..”</p><p> </p><p>You leaned up and pressed a soft kiss to Frankie’s cheek, before leaning more into his side and feeling his arm wrap around your shoulder. As you closed your eyes, you smiled, knowing Frankie was your safe place as well as this new house you get to call home with him.</p>
  </div></div>
<a name="section0002"><h2>2. Chapter 2</h2></a>
<div class="story"><div class="userstuff module">
    
    <p>“So will you be home for dinner or..”</p><p> </p><p>“I’ll try.. you know what the guys are like..”</p><p> </p><p>“They never shut up.. I know..”</p><p> </p><p>“If it gets late, I’ll make up an excuse..”</p><p> </p><p>You just smiled at Frankie and kissed his cheek as he stepped out of the house and into his truck. Knowing you were going to have the whole house to yourself was weird—it was always you and Frankie together. Once he had pulled out of the driveway, you shut the door and sighed, turning to face the living room. Admittedly, it did need a clean and you knew that would help pass the time.</p><p> </p><p>You grabbed your phone, stuck your headphones in and started to vacuum up the living room first, before moving onto the hallway, the kitchen and finally the bedroom. Once you had put the vacuum away, you grabbed the duster and started on the fireplace and other smaller pieces of furniture around the house. Soon enough, you had finished dusting and checked the time, only to find out it had literally been an hour and a half since you started cleaning.</p><p> </p><p>“Oh my god..” You sighed as you sat down on the couch, removing your headphones and switching the television on, hoping that a movie might help you pass some more time. Frankie wouldn’t be home for another two hours (you hoped) and so you just settled on watching a random movie.</p><p> </p><p>Around an hour into the movie, you started to get antsy, which ended up with you turning the movie off, locking the front door and running to the bathroom. You didn’t know whether you were going to be sick or not but you ended up running a bath for yourself, trying to soothe yourself. You kept telling yourself it was just a movie but it felt so real.</p><p> </p><p>And the only thing that would calm you down is Frankie.</p><p> </p><p>“Hey.. you alright?”</p><p> </p><p>“C-Can you come home? P-Please..”</p><p> </p><p>“Baby? Is everything okay?”</p><p> </p><p>“P-Please?”</p><p> </p><p>“I’m on my way okay? Get into bed, just lie down okay? You can take one of my shirts..”</p><p> </p><p>He hung up after that and you stopped the water before going to bed, taking his worn shirt from earlier and slipping into it. You lay down with the covers over you, trying to stop yourself from crying. It felt like ages before Frankie came home and he was upstairs in an instant, his shoes and jacket discarded before he got into bed with you.</p><p> </p><p>“Hey.. hey.. what happened?”</p><p> </p><p>You couldn’t bring yourself to tell him so you just got up and took him downstairs, turning the television on and pressing rewind on the movie. Once you hit play, you just walked out of the room and left Frankie to watch what you witnessed. After only a few minutes, you heard the movie pause and then Frankie’s footsteps come towards you.</p><p> </p><p>“Baby..”</p><p> </p><p>You couldn’t even look at him. He went to touch your arm but retracted it incase it was too far.</p><p> </p><p>“I’m sorry.. god, I made you come home early for this mess..”</p><p> </p><p>“You’re not a mess.. you never are..”</p><p> </p><p>“But—“</p><p> </p><p>“No buts.. c’mon look at me..”</p><p> </p><p>You slowly turned around, your eyes red from crying.</p><p> </p><p>“You.. you have been through so much.. and sometimes.. no, scratch that.. all the time, every day.. I know you’re so much stronger than I ever could be.. I admire you and adore you all at the same time..”</p><p> </p><p>“Frankie..”</p><p> </p><p>“Baby.. listen.. we both have our traumas.. and together, we can get through them and come out the other end as much, much stronger people..”</p><p> </p><p>He stepped towards you now, holding your face in his hands.</p><p> </p><p>“You are an inspiration to me.. I look at you and I just cannot believe you’re real.. there’s no way I deserve someone like you.. someone as beautiful and kind and wonderful as you..”</p><p> </p><p>“But..” You trailed off as you looked over at the television.</p><p> </p><p>“Baby.. I know.. but I’m here for you.. always..”</p><p> </p><p>“You don’t have to stay..”</p><p> </p><p>“I want to.. I always will..”</p><p> </p><p>“Really?”</p><p> </p><p>“Yes.. one hundred percent.. you make my life so much better..”</p><p> </p><p>It was hard to believe him but you had to push past it and see him for who he really is—this man who came into your life five years ago, the man who changed your life and helped you through so much. You owe everything to Frankie, you don’t think you could live without him.</p><p> </p><p>“Now.. I noticed the bathroom light on earlier.. did you try and run yourself a bath? Or a shower?”</p><p> </p><p>“Bath..”</p><p> </p><p>“You still want one?”</p><p> </p><p>You nodded.</p><p> </p><p>“C’mon.. I’ll let it drain and I’ll redo you a new bath..”</p><p> </p><p>“Can you join me?”</p><p> </p><p>“Is that what you want?”</p><p> </p><p>“Y-Yes..”</p><p> </p><p>He smiled and kissed your forehead, which you took as his agreement to joining you.</p><p> </p><p>After he took you upstairs, he let you go into the bedroom to undress while he ran you a new warm bath. He got undressed himself and settled in the water, waiting for you to join him. When you walked in, he smiled and held out his hand, helping you into the water.</p><p> </p><p>“You want to relax or do you want me to wash you?”</p><p> </p><p>“Can you w-wash me..”</p><p> </p><p>“Anything for you, sweetheart..”</p><p> </p><p>Frankie started softly scrubbing at your back, the loofah scratching at your skin so nicely. You swore you could just fall asleep here with him—you didn’t even realise you did until you felt him nudge you awake. He then just pulled you against his chest and you just relished in the feeling of him holding you tight, like he was protecting you. He was yours forever and you never wanted him to let go.</p>
  </div></div>
<a name="section0003"><h2>3. Chapter 3</h2></a>
<div class="story"><div class="userstuff module">
    
    <p>“Hi.. how can I help you today?”</p><p> </p><p>“I saw on your website, you had this little German Shepherd puppy? Is he still up for adoption?”</p><p> </p><p>“He is indeed, let me show you him.. he’s this way..”</p><p> </p><p>Frankie smiled at the rescue centre worker as she stepped out from behind the reception desk and through to the back of the building, passing other kennels as they walked through. At the end of the corridor was a kennel with three little puppies inside, all German Shepherds.</p><p> </p><p>“So, we currently have three.. they don’t need to be adopted together so if you can’t take all three, that’s okay.. I can let you in or take them out to see which one you wanna take home..”</p><p> </p><p>“Oh jesus, I don’t think I’ll fit in there..”</p><p> </p><p>“If this was one of our bigger dogs, they’d have a bigger kennel.. just step back a second because they will get hyper and jump at you..”</p><p> </p><p>Frankie nodded and took a step back, letting her open the kennel cage door so the puppies could step out. As the first one walked out, she turned down the adjacent corridor, grabbing a temporary fence so the puppies only had the area outside their kennels to move around in. Frankie slowly sat down on the ground, letting the puppies get used to him being around. As the first one started sniffing around him, the other two made their way out of the cage too, obviously a tiny bit wary of Frankie.</p><p> </p><p>“Is one of these guys a present or did you just want a dog?”</p><p> </p><p>“Well.. me and my girlfriend, we just moved into this farm house and I just keep thinking about how the house would be perfect with a dog and I’ve always wanted a German Shepherd..”</p><p> </p><p>“So she doesn’t know?”</p><p> </p><p>Frankie smiled and shook his head, making the rescue centre gasp and smile.</p><p> </p><p>“Oh that’s so cute!”</p><p> </p><p>Frankie smiled even more, just imagining the thought of you with one of the puppies on your lap or running after you around the house. The second puppy was currently trying to climb onto his lap and Frankie reached down to help it up, before it just snuggled into him and lay down. He just looked up at the employee and smiled.</p><p> </p><p>“Well, I think he’s actually adopted you..”</p><p> </p><p>The worker stepped over the fence and shooed the other two puppies back into the kennel. Frankie carefully picked up the other puppy and let it rest in his arms as he followed the employee back to reception. She gave him a puppy carrier and he slowly tried waking up the puppy so he could put him inside—which admittedly took a while but eventually he woke up and soon fell back asleep inside the carrier.</p><p> </p><p>“So we just need you to fill out these forms and you’re good to go.”</p><p> </p><p>Frankie nodded, heading over to the seating area to fill out the forms and once he was done, he handed them back.</p><p> </p><p>“Now, what you’re gonna need is a few pamphlets, just about basic care and food.. and on the back of this is a list of vet clinics nearby to get it microchipped and all that..”</p><p> </p><p>“Oh great, thank you..”</p><p> </p><p>“No problem! And with that, you’re good to go!”</p><p> </p><p>“Thank you.. if this all goes well, I might be back soon for the other two..”</p><p> </p><p>The employee just smiled and waved him out the door. After Frankie settled the puppy carrier in the front seat, he just smiled over at them.</p><p> </p><p>“You ready to meet your mom?”</p><p> </p><p>He didn’t even realise the puppy was awake when he heard them whine softly—he even nearly teared up hearing the noise.</p><p> </p><p>He soon took off and drove the short ride home, feeling giddy with excitement at surprising you with the puppy. It only took about half an hour to get back home, the quiet suburban area nearby making the journey flow by even faster. After Frankie pulled up in the driveway, he texted you to come outside.</p><p> </p><p>You stood up off the couch and waved at him through the window before heading outside. You saw him point at the passenger seat as you walked up towards the car, however, you didn’t see anything until you were right outside the window. Your hands flew to your face and you stepped back, not truly believing it at all.</p><p> </p><p>Frankie stepped out the car and round to the passenger side, opening the door and taking the carrier out.</p><p> </p><p>“A dog?!”</p><p> </p><p>“Yes.. a dog.. you wanna hold him?”</p><p> </p><p>“Oh my god? YES!”</p><p> </p><p>Frankie just smiled, shutting the door and locking the car before heading inside the house. He set the carrier down and you sat in front of it, ready for him to open it. When the puppy stepped out, you just gasped, watching as he slowly padded over to you. Frankie sat next to you on the floor and the puppy, who was wary of you at first, instantly relaxed upon seeing Frankie sit next to you.</p><p> </p><p>“You’re home, buddy..”</p><p> </p><p>The puppy yapped and smiled at you, his tongue hanging out of his mouth as he panted. You reached forward to pick him up and he instantly wriggled in your hands, his tongue reaching out to lick your face, making you laugh. Once he exhausted himself, he settled in your arms and lay down.</p><p> </p><p>“You didn’t tell me we were getting a dog!”</p><p> </p><p>“It was a surprise..”</p><p> </p><p>“Frankie..”</p><p> </p><p>He just smiled at you and leaned over to kiss your forehead. You honestly don’t know what you did to deserve a man like him, but he truly was your whole world. Well, both him and the puppy now were.</p>
  </div></div>
<a name="section0004"><h2>4. Chapter 4</h2></a>
<div class="story"><div class="userstuff module">
    
    <p>“Baby, what are you doing up? C’mon back to bed..”</p>
<p> </p>
<p>“But.. I miss you..”</p>
<p> </p>
<p>“I know.. I know.. but c’mon, I’ll be up in a minute or so, okay?”</p>
<p> </p>
<p>“Okay..” You sighed, turning around heading back upstairs and into your bedroom. Frankie smiled and turned back to the soup he had heating up on the pan as well as the tea he was halfway through making for you. When you had woken up this morning, Frankie knew you were sick—like the coughing and groaning in pain wasn’t a dead giveaway. He told you to rest and he lay with you for a few hours before he got up and made you lunch, which consisted of some soup, tea and a cup of fruit juice to keep on your bedside table.</p>
<p> </p>
<p>Once the soup was heated up, he finished making your tea and brought it upstairs on a breakfast tray. You heard him coming up the stairs and slowly sat up, pulling the covers up to your waist. As he entered the room, you smiled softly at him, silently thanking him for the food.</p>
<p> </p>
<p>“See.. I told you I’d be back..” He smiled as he sat the tray down on your lap before placing the cup of juice on your bedside table.</p>
<p> </p>
<p>“Actually, can you out that on your side? I was going to put my tea there..”</p>
<p> </p>
<p>“Of course, just let me know when you want it back..”</p>
<p> </p>
<p>You nodded and placed your tea where the juice was and started to take little spoonfuls of your soup. Frankie walked back round the bed and placed the cup of juice down on his bedside table before getting beside you. He picked up the book on his bedside table and started reading, occasionally watching you out of his peripheral vision to make sure you were okay.</p>
<p> </p>
<p>Once your soup had started to cool down, you ended up just picking the bowl up and sipping at it to get every last drop. After you finished, you got up and placed the tray on the desk in your room, before returning back to Frankie and cuddling into his side.</p>
<p> </p>
<p>“I do have to work today—“</p>
<p> </p>
<p>“Nope, I won’t let you.. you need to rest as much as possible..”</p>
<p> </p>
<p>“But, Frankie—“</p>
<p> </p>
<p>“Mm mm.. you’re staying in bed and resting..”</p>
<p> </p>
<p>He placed his book back down as you tried getting up but he just pulled you back in. He shifted you so you were laying down and he rolled himself over, his arm trapping you to the bed. You sighed and looked over at him, smiling at the big shit eating grin he had plastered on his face.</p>
<p> </p>
<p>“Frankie.. stop..”</p>
<p> </p>
<p>“Baby, I’m serious.. you need to rest..”</p>
<p> </p>
<p>“I need to work..”</p>
<p> </p>
<p>“Rest.”</p>
<p> </p>
<p>You just sighed and gave in, knowing he wouldn’t give up or let you go. You weren’t complaining however, you liked being this close to Frankie and having him hold you against him. The soup and tea were a sure fire way of temporarily making your sickness go away, but having Frankie near and making sure you were okay was the only cure you ever needed for anything.</p>
<p> </p>
<p>After a few minutes of lying together, you heard the familiar sound of Frankie’s soft snores and you looked over to see him asleep on top of you. You just smiled, running your fingers through his hair as he stretched his body out for a second before nestling back against you. As you sighed again, you knew he was right—you should be resting and you shifted against the bed to get comfy and soon fell asleep yourself. Frankie awoke after a few minutes only to see you asleep, to which he just smiled and went back to sleep himself, rubbing soft circles into your skin with the thumb from his hand that was wrapped around you. You smiled in your sleep as you felt his thumb move against your skin, gently relaxing you even more. He always took such good care of you, even when the both of you were asleep—the thumb movements were always his way of promising you he was here for you and to protect you.</p>
<p> </p>
<p>And he never broke that promise.</p>
  </div></div>
<a name="section0005"><h2>5. Chapter 5</h2></a>
<div class="story"><div class="userstuff module">
    
    <p>You took a sip of your tea as you looked out at Frankie running around your back yard with your new puppy, who was more than excited to chase him around all day. Frankie stopped for a second to catch his breath and waved at you from outside, smiling at you. You smiled and waved back before taking the last sip of your tea and heading upstairs to get dressed properly. Frankie bent down after he saw you walk away and scratched behind the puppy’s ears, smiling at him.</p><p> </p><p>“Mommy’s gone upstairs.. why don’t you go and find her?”</p><p> </p><p>The puppy yapped at him instantly and ran back inside the house, carefully climbing the stairs just as Frankie stepped back inside. He walked over to the sink and washed his hands, before refilling both the food and water bowls by the door. He then grabbed the puppy harness and went to sit on the couch, waiting for you to get dressed and come downstairs.</p><p> </p><p>He waited for about five minutes before hearing the puppy whining and yapping from upstairs. He smiled knowing he’d found you but the sounds got desperate and soon he heard the puppy running downstairs. He was now at Frankie’s feet and kept darting away from him and back to his feet.</p><p> </p><p>“What’s up buddy?”</p><p> </p><p>The puppy just whined and Frankie immediately stood up and ran upstairs, rushing into the bedroom and seeing you kneeling on the floor while flopped onto the bed.</p><p> </p><p>“Shit.. baby, are you okay?”</p><p> </p><p>“F-Frankie?”</p><p> </p><p>“Yeah.. yeah, baby it’s me..”</p><p> </p><p>He instantly rushed to your side but before he knelt down he saw the bedside drawer open, socks pushed to the side revealing the reason why you were upset.</p><p> </p><p>“I want you to lie down.. can you do that for me?”</p><p> </p><p>You just nodded and got up to lie on the bed. As Frankie went to walk round the bed, he noticed the puppy waiting at the door.</p><p> </p><p>“C’mon buddy.. we’ll walk later..” He walked over to him and picked him up, placing him down on the bed, where he waddled over to you and lay down by your face.</p><p> </p><p>“Okay.. what we’re gonna do.. is just lie here, okay? I want you to know I’m here and you’re safe and you’re protected with me by your side..”</p><p> </p><p>“But.. I did that..”</p><p> </p><p>“I know you did.. but I still love you.. and without this lil guy, I wouldn’t have known.. he saved your life..”</p><p> </p><p>You reached to pet the puppy’s head and he started licking your face, making you smile softly. Frankie inched closer to you and managed to reach behind you and close the drawer.</p><p> </p><p>“You remember what happened when I relapsed.. you saw me, I was a mess.. but you helped me.. you were there for me.. now it’s my turn to be here for you..”</p><p> </p><p>“I don’t know if this will just be a one time thing..”</p><p> </p><p>“Well.. I’ll try and help you make it just this one time, but if it ever does happen again, just know I will be here for you.. always..”</p><p> </p><p>You just nuzzled into his chest with your head, feeling his warmth.</p><p> </p><p>“Hey.. I have an idea..”</p><p> </p><p>“Hm?”</p><p> </p><p>“This lil guy.. what if we signed him up for training.. to be your alert dog.. he already looks after you enough..”</p><p> </p><p>“You think it would help?”</p><p> </p><p>“Definitely.. I know you’re struggling, I know.. having him around to help you if I’m not here will definitely be a great idea..”</p><p> </p><p>“I think we should.. he might even be able to help you if you ever relapse again..”</p><p> </p><p>Frankie just nodded, pressing a soft kiss to your forehead.</p><p> </p><p>“I’m with you every step of the way.. it’s our journey and I’m so glad to be able to be on it with you..”</p><p> </p><p>“I wouldn’t do it with anyone else.. except maybe this guy..”</p><p> </p><p>Frankie just smiled, reaching down slightly to scratch behind the puppy’s ears. He was sound asleep next you and Frankie just laughed.</p><p> </p><p>“How can he be so excited to go for a walk and like ten minutes later, be sound asleep?”</p><p> </p><p>“He takes after you..” You smiled at Frankie after you spoke, leaning up to kiss him softly on the lips. Every time you looked at him, you truly believed he was the one for you; your soulmate. You just know it. You were made for each other and nothing could ever come in between the adoration and trust you have for each other. He was everything to you, and more.</p>
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<a name="section0006"><h2>6. Chapter 6</h2></a>
<div class="story"><div class="userstuff module">
    
    <p>“So you’ll be home in an hour or so?”</p><p> </p><p>“Yeah.. just catching up with some friends..”</p><p> </p><p>“Okay, have fun and I’ll see you later..”</p><p> </p><p>Frankie smiled and kissed your forehead before you stepped out of the house and up to your car, waving at him before stepping inside and pulling out of the driveway. Once he knew you had gone, he quickly whipped out his phone and dialled Santi’s number.</p><p> </p><p>“She gone?”</p><p> </p><p>“Left a minute ago..”</p><p> </p><p>“I’ll be over soon..”</p><p> </p><p>Frankie said his goodbyes before hanging up the phone and heading upstairs. Taking the items he needed out of the bedside table, he sighed as he looked at them—to say he was nervous was an understatement. He headed back downstairs to wait on Santi arriving. After a while of waiting, the front doorbell went and Frankie got up and went to answer it, welcoming his friend into the house.</p><p> </p><p>“So.. you got everything?</p><p> </p><p>“Yeah.. here’s the recipe book.. I’ve bookmarked some pages that I think you should try..”</p><p> </p><p>“You’re a lifesaver.. god knows I can’t cook and your mom’s cooking was always the best..”</p><p> </p><p>“Yeah.. and I’m glad she wrote them all down too..”</p><p> </p><p>“Oh for sure.. anyway, thanks.. and on such short notice too..”</p><p> </p><p>Santiago nodded at him before turning around and heading to the door, Frankie following suit to wave him off. Once he had left, Frankie headed to the kitchen and grabbed the ingredients for one of the recipes, knowing that you’d be home just in time for him serving it up.</p><p> </p><p>He carefully followed every step of the recipe, making sure to not miss a step. He didn’t want to mess this up for you, despite him knowing how to cook pretty well—today was a big day for him.</p><p> </p><p>Frankie looked over at the timer and saw there was 5 minutes left on it, just as he heard you coming in the front door. He smiled as you walked in, taking a big inhale of the astounding smells from the kitchen.</p><p> </p><p>“Oh my god.. this smells delicious..”</p><p> </p><p>“Shh.. go sit down.. I’m just about to serve up..”</p><p> </p><p>You just smiled and headed out to the dining room, waiting for him to bring the food out. It wasn’t a surprise for Frankie to cook for you but you just knew this was going to be the best damn dinner for a long time. Once he brought out the food, he sat down opposite you at the table and smiled as you tucked into the food.</p><p> </p><p>“Oh god.. oh Frankie.. this is sooo good!”</p><p> </p><p>“You can thank Santi’s mom.. he generously gave us her cookbook for tonight..”</p><p> </p><p>“Oh, well tell him thank you.. and ask if we can have a spare copy because I want to eat only this for the rest of my life..” Frankie just laughed and smiled, continuing to eat his food.</p><p> </p><p>After you were both done, he went to wash up the dishes as you headed to the bathroom to wash your hands. Soon, you heard Frankie coming up the stairs and the puppy was bounding after him, holding a tiny wicker basket in between his teeth.</p><p> </p><p>“Hey you two.. oh! And what have you got there?”</p><p> </p><p>“It’s for you..”</p><p> </p><p>Frankie lifted the puppy onto the bed and he waddled over to a spot in the middle and sat down. You turned to face the puppy and took the basket out of his mouth, opening the lid to find a single post-it note.</p><p> </p><p>“Turn Around.”</p><p> </p><p>You were confused at the words but did as the note asked and turned round anyway, dropping the note as you saw what Frankie was doing. Your hands flew to your face when you saw him down on one knee, a small black velvet box open in his hand.</p><p> </p><p>“Baby.. you’re everything to me, you mean absolutely everything to me.. there is nobody, not a single person.. that I’d want to spend the rest of my life with.. so, will you marry me?”</p><p> </p><p>“Frankie.. oh my god, yes!”</p><p> </p><p>Frankie stood up as you ran to him, sobbing into his chest as he held you against him, the biggest smile on his face. You pulled away for a second so he could slide the ring over your finger. Once he did, you instantly went back to hugging him, pressing your cheek against his chest.</p><p> </p><p>“We’ve been through so much.. we bought a house, we got a puppy.. we’ve had our ups and downs, but I wouldn’t change a thing.. I love you, god, I love you so goddamn much..”</p><p> </p><p>“Frankie.. I love you so goddamn much too.. I was not expecting this today.. oh my god..”</p><p> </p><p>“I wanted to surprise you..”</p><p> </p><p>“God.. you just, you continue to surprise me everyday..”</p>
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<a name="section0007"><h2>7. Chapter 7</h2></a>
<div class="story"><div class="userstuff module">
    
    <p>Mornings with Frankie were always the best. He was always warm, which made winter mornings, like today, even more special. You were still asleep, Frankie’s body pressed into your back and his arm draped over your chest. He was usually the little spoon but you begged him to be the big spoon when you knew it would be cold overnight. His body was like a furnace and you grinned to yourself when he huddled you close to him.</p><p> </p><p>You turned round to face him, trying not to wake him but you saw his eyes slowly blink open and you pouted. He had to get up today and all you wanted was to just spend all day in bed with him.</p><p> </p><p>“Morning, baby..”</p><p> </p><p>“Morning..”</p><p> </p><p>You sighed and Frankie pressed a soft kiss to your forehead.</p><p> </p><p>“Why do you have to go out today..”</p><p> </p><p>“I don’t..”</p><p> </p><p>“What?”</p><p> </p><p>“Remember when I got up in the middle of the night to go to the bathroom? I texted Santi and cancelled my plans today.. I’m all yours baby..”</p><p> </p><p>“Really??”</p><p> </p><p>“Yes.. really.. now shh.. let’s go back to sleep, okay?”</p><p> </p><p>You just smiled and nuzzled into his chest, while he pulled the covers up over you and held you close to him. He warmed you up quickly and you sighed when you felt your body temperature rise, relaxing against Frankie while you stretched slightly.</p><p> </p><p>“You good?”</p><p> </p><p>“I’m good..”</p><p> </p><p>Frankie smiled at you and started rubbing soft circles into your side with his thumb, trying to relax you into a slumber. Once he knew you were asleep, he nodded off himself, relaxing into the pillows.</p><p> </p><p>The both of you were only asleep for an hour or so before Frankie got up. He left you asleep but placed another blanket on top of the comforter, smoothing it out before heading downstairs.</p><p> </p><p>You stayed asleep for a while before the smell of coffee wafted through the house. Stretching again, you got up and wrapped a fluffy bathrobe around you, shivering when you got out of the warm bedroom. Once you were downstairs, you felt the warmth a bit more and waited for Frankie in the living room. You called out to him to let him know you were here and he soon brought out breakfast for you both.</p><p> </p><p>He switched on the television as he sat down next to you and you cuddled into him while eating your toast. He did the same, occasionally sipping his coffee. You smiled to yourself, knowing that today you would have him all to yourself. You hadn’t told him you were struggling the last few days but with the way he cancelled his plans just to stay home with you, you thought maybe he could just tell you needed a pick me up.</p><p> </p><p>And spending the day with him doing nothing was your perfect idea of a pick me up.</p>
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<a name="section0008"><h2>8. Chapter 8</h2></a>
<div class="story"><div class="userstuff module">
    
    <p>“Frankie where are you going?”</p><p> </p><p>“Out. I’ll be back in about two hours. It’s a surprise..”</p><p> </p><p>“Oh.. okay, do you want me to delay lunch until you get back?”</p><p> </p><p>Frankie walked back over to you and leaned down to press a soft kiss to the top of your head, before he shook his head at you and left. You sighed, turning on the television and waited for him to get back. This was unusual for Frankie, to just get up and leave early in the morning—well not that early but he never ventured out the house before lunch.</p><p> </p><p>He was right though, two hours later and he was back, opening the front door and rushing back to his truck to grab four bags of shopping and dumping them in the middle of the living room. You waited patiently on the couch for him to explain why he has so many bags, considering you had just gone out yesterday to replenish the fridge and the cupboard. Frankie had now shut the front door and was stood in front of the bags, picking one up and placing it on the coffee table.</p><p> </p><p>“Okay, so Halloween is soon right?”</p><p> </p><p>“Yes...”</p><p> </p><p>“Well, all the good decorations are super expensive and the cheap ones are just kinda rubbish.. so I thought we’d make our own..”</p><p> </p><p>He started pulling out loads of black and orange coloured paper and card, as well as a lot of glue and glitter. You just smiled and shook your head—never in your life did you think Frankie would be the one to initiate an arts and crafts day. You stood up and walked over to him, looking through the items in the bags</p><p> </p><p>“Did you get pumpkins? For carving?”</p><p> </p><p>“Not yet, we can save that for the week before Halloween.”</p><p> </p><p>You nodded, continuing to pick out different items from the bag—some pipe cleaners, buttons and assorted pom poms. As you sifted through the items, Frankie pointed out different things and was explaining how to make different objects or animals from the craft item he was pointing at.</p><p> </p><p>“So if you wanted to make a spider, you take a pom pm and stick the pipe cleaners onto it.. or use the card to make a witches hat.. or really whatever you want..”</p><p> </p><p>“I think you’re more excited about this than me and I am REALLY excited..”</p><p> </p><p>Frankie just smiled and you helped him bring the items to the table in your back garden. The sun was out but there was a cool breeze rushing through the air, which was just enough to make the outside bearable. Fall was always cold where you lived but at least today was somewhat warmer—the nights were the complete opposite, which for you was great, as you could cuddle right into Frankie at night who you swear has a furnace living inside of him.</p><p> </p><p>Frankie sat down and immediately got to work, cutting up some black, green and orange crêpe paper into strips. He laid them all out on the table, using a box to keep them flat as well as stopping them from flying away.</p><p> </p><p>After around about an hour, Frankie and you had enough decorations for your house and more. He helped you take them back inside and dumped them into an empty cardboard box, ready for decorating the house later on.</p><p> </p><p>“Lunch?”</p><p> </p><p>“Please..”</p><p> </p><p>“I think there’s some soup in the cupboard, if you want that?”</p><p> </p><p>“Sounds good.”</p><p> </p><p>You smiled and went off to the kitchen to make you and Frankie the soup.</p><p> </p><p>Frankie waited at the dining table as you brought over the bowls of soup, setting one in front of him and then next to him as you sat down. You both sat in silence as you just enjoyed your meals and once Frankie was finished, he immediately went to the cardboard box and brung it back to the table.</p><p> </p><p>“I know we aren’t gonna put these up for a while but maybe we should go through them and decide which ones to put where..”</p><p> </p><p>You nodded before taking the empty bowls back into the kitchen and then rejoining Frankie at the dinner table. He took out the giant spider he had created from the pom poms and crêpe paper while you took out the ghost you had made from tissue paper and glue.</p><p> </p><p>“Door.”</p><p> </p><p>You just smiled at each other as you both spoke the same word at the same time. He set the decorations aside as you took out a black and orange streamer and decided to hang it between the spider and the ghost above the door.</p><p> </p><p>“You don’t think we’re doing this too early?”</p><p> </p><p>“Absolutely not.”</p><p> </p><p>Frankie just smiled at you and took the rest of the decorations out the box. You both spent the remainder of the evening decorating the house, however you spent most of the time just admiring Frankie putting up the decorations and wondering how you managed to end up so lucky with a man like him. You were so happy that you found yourself someone who shared your enthusiasm for Halloween—despite his hatred for horror movies. You couldn’t help but smile when you remembered him hiding into your chest the last time you put one on. He was so afraid that you might leave him after that but you reassured him that it just made you love him even more.</p>
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<a name="section0009"><h2>9. Chapter 9</h2></a>
<div class="story"><div class="userstuff module">
    
    <p>“F-Frankie?”</p><p> </p><p>“Hmm?”</p><p> </p><p>“Are you.. a-are you awake?”</p><p> </p><p>“Am now.. you okay?”</p><p> </p><p>He had turned round to you now, but not before he had turned on the small lamp on his nightstand. You looked fine but he could tell you weren’t—your hands were jittery and your lips were trembling. There was only one time when you got like this during the night and it was always when you had a nightmare. He’s had his fair share of nightmares as well and you were always perfect at helping him through it.</p><p> </p><p>“Do you want to talk about it? Or do you want me to stick on the TV?”</p><p> </p><p>“I.. I was drinking..”</p><p> </p><p>“Baby..”</p><p> </p><p>“I know I’m not like that anymore but it scares me..”</p><p> </p><p>He was about to speak before you interjected.</p><p> </p><p>“Can you put the TV on? I might not even watch it.. just for background noise..”</p><p> </p><p>Frankie nodded and turned to grab the remote, switching on the television. As the channel loaded, the name of the programme came up and Frankie just laughed.</p><p> </p><p>“No wonder this is on at 3am.. who watches this crap?”</p><p> </p><p>You didn’t even say anything, still too shaken up to register what’s going on.</p><p> </p><p>“C’mon.. let’s watch it and make fun of it.. we can trash talk trash TV..”</p><p> </p><p>You nodded, but whether you were actually going to indulge in Frankie’s idea was another matter.</p><p> </p><p>For the most part, you just cuddled into Frankie’s side, listening to him mock the programme and laugh at it. He didn’t make you do it either, instead he just let you relax and breathe and feel comfortable again.</p><p> </p><p>“Stay here okay? I’m gonna get you a glass of water..”</p><p> </p><p>“Okay..”</p><p> </p><p>You lay back down, the programme playing softly in the background of the room. When Frankie returned, you sat up against the headboard and took a drink of the water before placing it on your own nightstand.</p><p> </p><p>“It’s pretty shit isn’t it..”</p><p> </p><p>“The programme? Oh yeah.. and yet, I seem to enjoy it..”</p><p> </p><p>“It’s trash television Frankie.. everyone’s guilty pleasure..”</p><p> </p><p>He just laughed softly at you and you smiled back at him. You spent an hour just flicking through the channels, before eventually just landing on a movie channel and letting it play some random, vintage movie.</p><p> </p><p>“I can’t believe things really were in black and white..”</p><p> </p><p>“You don’t remember it?”</p><p> </p><p>“Is that an age joke?”</p><p> </p><p>“Maybe..”</p><p> </p><p>Frankie nudged into your side and turned his head to press a soft kiss to your forehead. He was your comfort, always here for you and ready to make you feel like everything was okay again. Sometimes he held you and just let you have a good cry but other times, like tonight, he knew you needed a distraction and, quite frankly, the smile on your face said it all.</p><p> </p><p>The movie channel sucked; with commercials every half an hour. Frankie took this opportunity to refill your water and also to grab one for himself. The next portion of the movie went by quickly and soon enough the next commercial break was on.</p><p> </p><p>“Hey.. I wanna see something.. follow me..”</p><p> </p><p>You watched as he got up and walked to the door, pausing to let you get up and follow him. He walked across the landing to the window at the end of the hall, drawing the curtains and looking out onto the empty street below. You slid your way in front of him, placing your hands on the windowsill.</p><p> </p><p>“It’s so quiet.. so beautiful..”</p><p> </p><p>“The moon looks amazing doesn’t it..”</p><p> </p><p>“It really does..”</p><p> </p><p>“I wonder how many other people are up and awake at this time? And not for work or anything like that.. but like us, can’t sleep so they just stare out their window..”</p><p> </p><p>“Lots of people, baby.. remember you’re not alone in your struggles..”</p><p> </p><p>“I know..”</p><p> </p><p>He kissed the top of your head and you smiled, letting him step back and allowing you to close the curtains again before walking back to bed with him. He switched off the television and got back into bed, turning his lamp off before turning to you and holding you against his chest.</p><p> </p><p>“Goodnight, sweetheart.. sleep well..”</p><p> </p><p>“You too, honey.. I love you..”</p><p> </p><p>“I love you too, baby.. I love you too..”</p>
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